Seattle Home Inspector's Blog

     The first building (we will call Roof A), as you can see in the picture, had a reasonable amount of repairs to what I would say was a "considerable" amount of damage.

     All the white "blotches" are the newer shingles with the darker grey being the original roof.  It is tedious work to do this kind of repair.  From where I stood it looked like it was pretty well done.  But now let's get on to "Roof B."

     As you can see in this picture the repairs FAR exceed what was left of the original roof.  My question is, "why would they leave so little---and not just replace all of it?" and secondly, "what were they thinking?"

     With this tool, the user will be able to easily remove the damaged shingle without destroying the good shingles around it.  I made a series of pictures to demonstrate how this tool works.

1.

     This picture shows how the "Shingle-Ripper" slides up behind the layers of shingles and hooks onto the nails which can then be drawn down and out from under the shingles.

2.

     Then a new shingle is cut, fitted and driven into where the old shingle was.

3.

     Next we come to the part that annoys Home Inspectors----and quality roofers.

     EXPOSED NAILS

     There is NO reason for there to be any exposed nails like the ones that show in this next picture.

    The next picture shows how the replaced shingle can be nailed in place without leaving any nails showing.  The shingle is slid into place except for about ½" (see Picture #3 above).  The shingle is then nailed at an angle right at the base of the overlaying shingle.  The shingle is then driven the rest of the way in carrying the nails underneath the overlaying shingle. 

 Pretty cool, yes?  (If you just have to have one----they are available a really good roofing supply companies)

     But today's blog is about a different kind of "toast."

     EVERYONE buying a home wants to know about the roof. 

     Makes perfect sense----after all, it protects everything else.  They want to know how old it is, what condition it is in, how long it is going to last etc.  

     All types of roofs have a life expectancy which can run (on the low end) from 6-10 years for roll-roofing to over a hundred years for some slate roofs.  All of these expectancies can be greatly reduced by environmental conditions such as hail and tornadoes (as Arkansas Barbara  can attest), poor installation, and factory defects. 

     It isn't always easy for an inspector to provide "definitive" answers to these questions, but with experience, most can provide some useful direction regarding the life of the roof.  While there is a large gulf, between when the roof is new, and when it is---as they say---"toast," which can be quite unpredictable, the "toast" part is really quite easy.

     Here are several pictures of roofs that don't need an inspector's keen eye.  The inspector would be better advised spending his or her time looking at the interior of the home----and for the "consequences" of the obvious conditions of these roofs.

     The first two pictures are roofs that have many layers of asphalt shingles over the original wood shingles.  These will be very expensive roofs to replace because of all the layers that must be stripped away and new sheathing installed before the new roof can be installed.

     Notice the grey areas that "sort of looks better" than the dark curly areas on this badly deteriorated roof?  This is where the shingles have completely fallen away, exposing the upper half of the shingles.  Some of the original tan color is still present in other areas.

     Anyone think the roof in this next picture will get a 5 year cert?

     So now that we know what "toast" looks like---you will be able to take the next step into the "Twilight Zone" between New-----and Toast.